Comic Book Review: Superman Last Stand of New Krypton #1 (of 3)

Book Information

Written by James Robinson & Sterling gates

Art by Pete Woods

Plot

Both Brainiac and Zod are meeting in the heat of battle.  Brainiac wants his city of Kandor bottled up again, and Zod wants Brainiac destroyed, even if it means sacrificing fellow Kryptonians!  With Superman caught in the middle he must now decide where his loyalties lie.  Will he keep his promise and remain under Zod’s command, or will he dispose of his militaristic persona and let the red “S” shine yet again?

My Thoughts

A year has gone by and we are still in the midst of Robinson’s New Krypton saga, only this time with a different name, “The Last Stand of New Krypton.”  This issue is a step up from Robinson’s absolutely terrible run in World of New Krypton but still retains some of that Robinson flavor that doesn’t sit well in my mouth.

Right away this book goes into an action packed battle with Brainiac’s skull-like ship hovering over New Krypton.  It was the last straw for Superman as Zod fired an energy beam at the ship while military personal were surrounding it, killing numerous Kryptonians in the process.  As Zod seemingly felt no remorse for his action, Kal-El throws down his military emblem and flies away into the sky with the suit we are all familiar with.  It was very nice to see him get rid of that black and grey outfit and go back to his bright red and blue colors.

James Robinson shines best when he’s writing an action story rather than a mystery story, and this book is in fine form with that.  He utilized everything he could to keep this story pumping with edge of your seat thrills.  Bringing in the Legion of Superheroes was a nice touch.  I wonder why Zod has decided to put the team behind bars?  I have a feeling that Zod will turn out to be the real bad guy before it’s all over.

Pete Woods delivers some pretty strong pencil work despite his less than satisfactory art shown in WONK.  The different shades of red and blues were very well done as well as the facial expressions shown on the characters faces.  However, I think Pete Woods is lacking in the far away shots rather than the close-ups.  That or the inkers are going a little too gun-ho on giving the images that defined look.

Overall

A good issue, very much a step forward in the right direction.  Let’s hope Robinson can redeem himself from World of New Krypton.

Rating: 7  out of 10 stars

Next Issue Coming April 7, 2010

LAST STAND OF NEW KRYPTON ships twice in April as the biggest Superman story in years rockets towards its mind-blowing conclusion!
Things look bleak for the Kryptonians as Brainiac reveals his trump card for destroying the planet, leaving Zod grasping at straws as to how to defend his people. But Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes have made it aboard Brainiac's ship, determined to stop the tyrant at any cost!
Over a year's worth of stories builds to the final page of this series, and you don't want to miss it!